Health Costs

The MIDTERMS

KFF Health Tracking Poll: MAHA and the Midterms

Chemical food additive and pesticide concerns associated with the Make America Health Again (MAHA) movement are shared broadly across the public. But when it comes to voters, health care costs are a higher priority and bigger motivator, even among MAHA supporters, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. When asked to identify their most important health priority for government to address, far more MAHA-supporting voters identify lowering the cost of health care (42%) than other issues more closely associated with the movement.

Affordable care act

ACA Marketplace Survey Feature Image - Website

Cost Concerns and Coverage Changes: A Follow-Up Survey of ACA Marketplace Enrollees

This KFF survey is a follow-up survey of adults who had ACA Marketplace insurance in 2025. The survey examines the cost concerns and coverage changes of Marketplace enrollees following the end of the enhanced premium tax credits and finds that half of returning enrollees say their health care costs are “a lot higher” and most expect to cut back on basic household expenses to afford coverage.

Health System Tracker

What Are the Recent Trends in Employer-Based Health Coverage? Employer-sponsored health insurance is the largest source of health coverage for people under 65, but its reach is uneven.

How Does U.S. Life Expectancy Compare to Other Countries? The life expectancy gap between the U.S. and peer countries decreased from 4.1 years in 2023 to 3.7 years in 2024 as U.S. mortality dropped.

How Does Cost Affect Access to Health Care? In 2024, about 1 in 6 adults reported delaying or not getting healthcare due to cost, including medical or mental health care.

How Does Health Spending in the U.S. Compare to Other Countries? While the U.S. still spends the most in total dollars, eight OECD nations had a higher percentage increase in per-person health spending in 2024.

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541 - 550 of 1,588 Results

  • Next Steps in Covering Uninsured Children: Findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children’s Health Coverage

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides key findings from the Kaiser Survey of Children's Health Coverage, including that many low- and middle-income working families with an uninsured child do not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance. The telephone survey of parents that was conducted in 2007 to learn more about children’s access to coverage and care and the health care cost-related pressures facing their families. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Pathways to Payment Innovation in a Post-Health Reform Era

    Event Date:
    Event

    The new health reform law contains a number of changes in the way health care is paid for, particularly in public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The Alliance for Health Reform and The Commonwealth Fund sponsored a May 10 briefing which explored topics such as how some health care providers will be paid differently under reform, what effect this might have on payments across the health care system, and how providers are reacting. For…

  • Toplines: National Survey of Households Affected by Cancer

    Poll Finding

        These toplines provide the complete survey questions and findings from the National Survey of Households Affected by Cancer conducted jointly by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health by telephone between Aug. 1 and Sept. 14, 2006. The survey provides an in-depth look at how families cope with cancer, and in particular, examines problems of health insurance and health care costs through the lens of those who…

  • Explaining Health Care Reform: What is Comparative Effectiveness Research?

    Issue Brief

    The brief examines current funding for comparative effectiveness research, the provisions included in the current health reform legislation, and issues related to which treatments that might be studied, whether and how to weigh costs of care, and how such findings will be used and shared with health-care practitioners and the public. It is part of the Foundation's series of Explaining Health Reform briefs on key concepts in health reform. Brief (.pdf)

  • Medicaid Managed Care for Persons with Disabilities: A Closer Look

    Report

    This report, Medicaid Managed Care for Persons with Disabilities: A Closer Look, presents an overview of the findings and summarizes the results of the case studies of Medicaid managed care programs that enroll persons with disabilities in four states: Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, and New Mexico. This report also draws from the findings of the 1998 national survey of state practices (Publication #2114) and focus groups of low-income disabled individuals (Publication #2152). This report addresses the…

  • The Sleeper in Health Reform: Long-Term Care and the CLASS Act

    Event Date:
    Event

    The Kaiser Family Foundation briefing examines a little-noticed but major provision in two leading health reform bills that would change the way that the U.S. pays for long-term care. The provision, known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, would establish a national voluntary insurance program that would allow for voluntary pre-financing of long-term care through payroll deductions and then provide a cash benefit to purchase services. The briefing included a summary…

  • Potential Costs of Coronavirus Treatment for People with Employer Coverage

    Issue Brief

    As COVID-19 spreads within the United States, questions have arisen over the potential costs people may face if they become severely ill and need treatment. While many large insurers have agreed to waive copayments and deductibles for COVID-19 tests, people with private insurance who face deductibles could still be on the hook for large treatment costs. A new brief examines the potential cost of COVID-19 treatment to employer health plans and their enrollees by looking…

  • Election 2024: State Health Care Snapshots

    Feature

    These fact sheets lay out the health care landscape in every state, providing data on a variety of health care topics that may be the focus of policy debates in the 2024 election. Topics include health costs; women’s health policy, including state abortion, contraception and maternity laws and policies; health coverage, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and prescription drug coverage, Medicaid, and employer-sponsored insurance; gender affirming care; and basic information on health status, population…

  • Toplines: National Survey of Enrollees in Consumer-Directed Health Plans

    Poll Finding

    These toplines provide the complete survey questions and findings from the National Survey of Enrollees in Consumer-Directed Health Plans conducted between June 21 and July 10, 2006. The survey looks at the views and experiences of people enrolled in consumer-directed health plans as compared to people with traditional health insurance. Toplines (.pdf)